About 200 People Found at Illegal Rehab Centre in Mpumalanga, Some of Them Chained

Police in South Africa arrested a pastor and his wife on Friday, October 16, 2026, after officials found about 200 people living at an unregistered rehabilitation centre run from a church in Mpumalanga province. Some of the people had sores on their bodies, and others had been chained to one another, the provincial department of social development said.

The centre was at a church in Waterval B, in the town of Siyabuswa. Officers took 14 people for medical treatment, and police said they were investigating kidnapping and health and safety offences.

What inspectors found

Officials from the department of social development in the Nkangala district found the centre on Thursday, October 15, while they were inspecting sites suspected of operating as illegal rehabilitation centres. They asked police for help at the premises.

The department said the pastor and his wife first told officials they were housing about 60 people. A full inspection found about 200 people instead. More than 30 were women, and the rest were men. An 11 year old boy and a 16 year old girl were also there, alongside adult men aged 22 and older.

The department described the conditions as grossly inhumane. It said 37 people were sharing one room in one case, rooms lacked proper washing and toilet facilities, and water taps were locked. Reuters reported that local media said some people had been chained and denied food, and that police did not confirm the reports on the condition of the people found.

The department said people at the centre paid a monthly fee of 3,000 rand. Of that, 1,300 rand per person was reportedly paid to the church under an arrangement involving people described as scouters. Early information indicated that people had come from Rustenburg, Soweto, Springs, Mamelodi and other areas, and that some had been at the centre for more than six months.

Arrests and charges

Police arrested a 59 year old man and a 58 year old woman on Friday morning. Police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli said early work suggested the couple ran the site as a rehabilitation centre without registering it.

The couple face charges of kidnapping, running an unregistered treatment centre and failing to meet health and safety rules. Mdhluli said the charges relate to section 19 of the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act, and to breaches of environmental health bylaws and the National Health Act.

Mdhluli said a team of detectives and specialist units had been put together under Mpumalanga police commissioner Lieutenant General Apaphia Modise to investigate. Police have not ruled out more arrests, and they said more charges may follow. The couple are due in the Mdutjana magistrate court in Siyabuswa on Monday, October 19, 2026.

Care for the people found

The department said it had started contacting parents and guardians so people could be reunited with their families where that was possible. It also plans to refer people to social development services in their home areas so their care continues.

Modise thanked the officials who kept the people at the site safe, and the police who made the arrests.

A wider problem in South Africa

The BBC reported that illegal rehabilitation centres have grown in South Africa in recent years as drug use has risen. Last year, the department said it had found more than 100 unlawful facilities across the country, most in Gauteng province. Many of the people found in Siyabuswa this week had also come from Gauteng.